


Early 21st Century Romanticism, 2nd Edition (Revised and Expanded)

by no_sweat_boba_fett



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Alternate Ending, F/F, M/M, it makes sense if you think about it i swear, look i just want wanted to give Mariah a girlfriend, yes Rachel from the coat room
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2020-06-25
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:33:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24904633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/no_sweat_boba_fett/pseuds/no_sweat_boba_fett
Summary: An alternate ending to the S2 episode 'Early 21st Century Romanticism', where Troy figures out who he really wanted to take to the Valentine's Day Dance. (Plus a happier ending for Mariah the librarian, featuring a certain movie-obsessed coat check girl.)
Relationships: Rachel/Mariah, Troy Barnes/Abed Nadir
Comments: 12
Kudos: 103





	Early 21st Century Romanticism, 2nd Edition (Revised and Expanded)

ACT THREE 

FADE IN:

INT. GREENDALE HALLWAY - NIGHT

ABED: Happy Valentine's Day. 

TROY: It is now. 

He pulls ABED into a hug. They stay there for a moment until TROY moves back a little. 

TROY: Hey, Abed? I- I think I just realized something. 

ABED: Yeah, me too. The Dean spent too much on dance decorations this year. He's not going to have enough money to bail the Human Being out of jail tomorrow, unless we-

TROY ( _interrupting_ ): Actually, it's something else. Mariah was really nice, and she let us eat all of the tacos, and she even kind of looks like that librarian lady in _The Mummy_ , but-

ABED shoots some finger guns--with sound affects--at TROY to acknowledge the reference. Troy smiles slightly but seems to be trying to build up the courage to keep talking. He takes a deep breath.

TROY: But I didn't want to go out with her. I think that what I really wanted was for you to be my date to the dance. 

ABED opens his mouth, but TROY hasn't finished yet. 

TROY: Except now that I think about it, I also want you to be my date to every dance, even the really bad ones, like that time we all got roofied on Halloween or when Starburns almost drowned during the spring break pool party and you had to give him CPR-

ABED ( _a little put off by that memory_ ): Troy-

TROY: And I think what I'm trying to say is that I want to date you, but you're also my best friend, and I don't want to stop being best friends with you ever, even if that means we can't date, but-

ABED ( _louder_ ): Troy! 

TROY finally gets it. He looks up. 

ABED: Happy Valentine's Day, Troy. 

He pulls TROY in for a kiss. We can hear _Greendale is Where I Belong_ playing in the background. When they finally break apart, Troy is beaming. 

TROY: Happy Valentine's Day. 

FADE OUT.

END TAG 

FADE IN:

INT. VALENTINE'S DAY DANCE COATROOM - NIGHT

MARIAH enters, visibly upset. She flashes an unconvincing smile to RACHEL, who's sitting in the corner, flipping through a magazine. As she turns away to collect her things from the coat rack, we hear her start to cry. 

RACHEL: Hey, is everything alright? 

MARIAH ( _barely holding back tears_ ): Why does this keep happening to me? Every time I get asked out at work, something always goes wrong. Sure, this time it was probably because my date realized he was in love with his best friend, which _is_ pretty adorable when you think about it, but this is the third time I've been dumped at a Greendale dance and I just don't know what to do. 

By this point, MARIAH has gathered her coat, scarf, and paperback copy of _Emma_ , but is still trying to compose herself. 

MARIAH: Maybe it's my fault that people think I'm some kind of stock movie character and not a real person. But I really love being a librarian, and there shouldn't be anything wrong with looking hot in glasses, and- 

MARIAH turns to leave, and finds herself face-to-face with RACHEL.

RACHEL: Hi.

MARIAH ( _immediately flustered_ ): Oh! I'm so sorry, I don't know why I said all of that. I'm Mariah, by the way.

RACHEL: Rachel. And it's okay. You know, lots of movies feature storylines where a character has a few bad relationships before she finds the right person. 

MARIAH ( _with a small smile appearing_ ): In books, too. And it's usually the person she was least expecting, like a cute stranger who shows up at just the right time. 

RACHEL: Or a cute stranger with two tickets to a Barenaked Ladies tribute concert this Saturday? 

MARIAH: I don't think I've read that one. 

She opens her copy of _Emma_ and jots down a phone number on the front cover. She hands it to RACHEL and turns to leave. Rachel smiles down at the book. 

FADE OUT.

**Author's Note:**

> Like everyone else on this website, I wanted to write an alternate ending to the S2 Valentine's Day episode! Feel free to drop any suggestions you have in the comments, or talk to me on tumblr (I'm no-sweat-boba-fett there as well)


End file.
